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Improving Curriculum Planning – Grattan Report 2022

Improving curriculum planning should be a national priority given the urgent challenges in Australian school education.  This approach takes the lottery out of learning, because it guarantees that all students receive common, high- quality teaching that supports them to build knowledge and skills through their school years.   The benefits of adopting a whole school curriculum can be significant.  As one Serpentine Primary School literacy leader said “We don’t miss students. You know you’re not going to get students in Year 3 that can’t read. We have high expectations, we want all kids to be at grade level.” (page 25).

Tackling this problem will require action from school leaders and teachers, as well as governments, and Catholic and independent school sector leaders.  Grattan’s 2022 report, Ending the lesson lottery: How to improve curriculum planning in schools, sets out what governments and sector leaders should do to help tackle this problem.

School leaders should not wait, however, for government action.  The new Grattan Guide (insert link to PDF) sets out practical steps they can take now to establish an effective whole-school approach to curriculum planning.  

The Guide draws on lessons Grattan learnt studying five schools across Australia that have embraced a whole-school approach to curriculum, the two of which from WA are both Fogarty EDvance schools – Serpentine Primary School and Aveley Secondary College.

The paper presents the six key features of a whole-school curriculum approach:

This helpful report also provides links to materials prepared by other schools to help exemplify what this looks like in practice – and can provide a fast-track way to get started. 

Grattan is also hosting an online event series with school leaders from two of the case study schools in our Guide. You can register for these events here:

President: Haseeb Riaz

Over the past two years, Haseeb has co-founded a non-for-profit organisation called MAN UP, which aims to redefine masculinity through workshops and presentations that engage young boys in high school to investigate their ideals of masculine culture, mental health and relationships. 

Haseeb has enjoyed his start to medicine, developing a passion for eye health, especially in a rural setting.  He is also excited to be elected as the Fogarty Scholars’ Association President, who in this role will join the Fogarty Foundation Board of Trustees in 2023. 

Vice Presdent: Caleb Adams 

Caleb is studying a double degree in Mathematics & Statistics, and Chemical Engineering. Caleb is an active member of the St Catherine’s College community and continues to volunteer with additional organisations. 

In 2022, Caleb was Funding Officer for the Futures Committee that organises the Fogarty Futures Leadership Conference for secondary high school students. In this role he brought a considerable financial boost to the event which allowed regional students – representing 20% of attendees – to be supported to attend. 

Treasurer: Chelsea Francis 

Chelsea completed her honours dissertation in the field of population health with the cardiovascular epidemiology research group at UWA. 

Her dissertation focussed on cardiac troponin testing with the hope that the research will contribute to medical decision making in the assessment of chest pain in emergency departments.  

Chelsea has also served as the Treasurer of the Fogarty Scholars Association for several years. 

Secretary: Emma Bond 

Emma has taken on the role of Secretary after being FSA President in 2022.  Last year was also a significant year for her as she spent semester 2 studying at the National University of Singapore. A highlight of the experience was making friends from around the world and learning about their culture. Emma performed with the NUS Symphony Orchestra at the Singapore Botanic Gardens and swam in the Singapore University Games and the Major Games Qualifier. Emma had the opportunity to do her exchange under a Westpac Asian Exchange Scholarship; and thoroughly enjoyed the leadership program which focussed on how Australia can effectively engage with Asia. 

Emma has also been elected President of the UWA Student Sports Council for 2023 and looks forward to working with all the diverse UWA sporting entities to further the objective of enhancing the UWA student experience.

Communications Director: Phoebe Dyson 

This year, Phoebe is excited to be completing her second semester on exchange in the United Kingdom. At the completion of her undergraduate degree, she hopes to continue her studies within the Juris Doctor program. 

Phoebe was the Marketing Officer for the 2022 Fogarty Futures Leadership Conference which allowed her to apply her marketing knowledge to help promote the conference to young leaders across Western Australia. She was also the 2022 Communications Officer on the Bachelor of Philosophy Union Committee. 

General Representatives:

Shantelle Jeyakumar 

Shantelle is passionate about empowering diverse communities, finding her place in the UWA Women’s Department as the Women of Colour Collective Convenor. She is also a mentor for We Are Womxn, an organisation dedicated to promoting positive conversations about taboo female topics. 

Shantelle continued to deepen her connection to the Fogarty community as a first-year representative of the Fogarty Scholars Association (FSA) – a role that allowed her to learn more about how the Committee operates.  She was a co-convenor for the 2022 Fogarty Futures Leadership Conference and looks forward to being a contributing member of the FSA in 2023. 

Pooja Ramesh 

Cultural and community-oriented activities have always played an instrumental role in Pooja’s life. She has been involved in Anandadhara WA – an ensemble that embraces diversity and the traversal of cultural boundaries – and is a member of the ASEANAustralia Strategic Youth Partnership Digital Events team. 

Pooja has also enjoyed participating in programs such as Teach Learn Grow and as a mentor and judge for the Lions Youth of the Year program. Pooja hopes to share her passion for education, music, and community widely, inspiring others to realise their potential and role as an active citizen. Pooja was awarded the New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant and undertook a Virtual Public Health Study Tour in December 2020 as part of the Grant. 

First Year Representatives:

Juliet Roux: Juliet graduated from Perth Modern School in 2022 with a Certificate of Distinction and the School subject award for Literature.  She contributed to her school community as a House Captain and as a violinist in the Senior Symphony Orchestra. 

Juliet’s current area of interest lies in policy and diplomacy.  In particular, she is interested in investigating the emerging presence of technology and intelligence within the judicial system. She is excited by the prospect of an exchange semester during her studies to broaden her knowledge in this field. 

Jade Wallwork: Jade grew up in the Wheatbelt town of Corrigin. She attended St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School on a boarding scholarship. 

On graduating in 2022, she received the Lynne Thompson Prize for Humanities and Social Sciences and the subject prizes for Media and Modern History ATAR. 

In 2022, Jade won the ABC’s national Heywire competition for the Great Southern region. She was invited to speak on ABC radio about the struggles she experienced living in rural Western Australia. Jade has a passion for filmmaking, and her ATAR media short film was selected for screenings at several film festivals, including the SWAN Perth International Women in Film Festival, and shortlisted at the Bond University Film and Television Awards. She can’t wait to continue to explore her passions by becoming involved in creativity-based clubs at UWA.

The Foundation joined with the Executive of UWA at the start of the new semester to welcome the eight, 2023 UWA Fogarty Scholars at the annual breakfast held at St Catherine’s College on 3 March.  

This year the State’s highest achieving students include Jessica Doan who was awarded the UWA Fogarty Beazley Medallist Scholarship.  Together with current Fogarty Scholars and Alumni the new Scholars were formally welcomed to the prestigious program.  

The 2023 UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarship recipients are: 

In 2023 we mark the 20th year of partnership with UWA, under which the Scholarships were established.  The Scholarships are offered to the State’s brightest and most committed students, who receive a full scholarship for the entirety of their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Scholars are selected based on their academic excellence and outstanding achievements in leadership, community involvement, enterprise, the arts and/or sport. 

 “By empowering and enriching our high performing students, we are encouraging them to shine, and use their vision and direction to enable positive change in society,” explained Caitlyn Embley, Executive Director of the Fogarty Foundation.  

“We need innovative and inspiring leaders and businesses in WA, which is why the UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarships continue to be a key element of the Foundation’s work,” she said.  

UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholars are provided with $10,000 per annum to assist in university tuition, accommodation and general living expenses. They participate in a tailored leadership and enterprise program, academic mentoring, leadership opportunities, support for initiatives and they become valued members of the Scholars and Alumni network.  

The Scholarships are available for Undergraduate and post graduate study at UWA and Scholars wishing to pursue postgraduate studies in specialist areas are also able to be supported, in partnership with Australian National University (ANU), to undertake their studies at ANU in Canberra. 

Since 2004, the scholarships have educated and supported 187 outstanding young people who are now contributing to their communities, our State and our nation. The UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarship Program is one of Australia’s premier scholarship programs. You can read about some of the exceptional Scholars at fogartyfoundation.org.au. 

The UWA Fogarty Scholars and Alumni enjoyed an evening of canapés at the UWA Club recently, as they celebrated another inspiring year of learning, leadership and collective accomplishment.

InspirED is the final event of the year for the Leadership and Innovation program where UWA executive and staff, past speakers and friends of the Scholarship Program are invited to celebrate the achievements of Scholars.

David Sadler, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education), spoke about the significance of the scholarship program and congratulated Scholars and Alumni for their commitment to excellence and achievement. 

Emma Bond shared an overview of the Fogarty Scholars’ Association events and congratulated the Futures team for another hugely successful Futures Conference. 

David Scaife MLA shared his story, from country public school boy to UWA Fogarty Scholar. He spoke about how the scholarship has supported his professional life and encouraged Scholars to take every opportunity presented to them.

Graduating Scholars, Hannah Bowden, Ben Caulfield, Adehlia Ebert and Theodore Kenworthy-Groen, spoke about their experiences at UWA and their future pursuits. 

Thank you to everyone who attended this InspirED event. It was a wonderful opportunity to hear from UWA Fogarty Scholars and Alumni who are working towards and/or acting as leaders in our community and beyond.  

West Australian philanthropist and WA 2020 Australian of the Year, Annie Fogarty AM, is delighted that Fogarty EDvance has seen all 125 participating schools achieve improvement, and over half of these, realise significant improvements for their students. 

“Fogarty EDvance believes that with strong leadership, a whole school improvement strategy can be successfully implemented, transforming schools, and improving educational outcomes for students,” Annie Fogarty explained.

In 2022, EDvance celebrates 10 inspired years of working with West Australian schools in challenging communities. The program has impacted 125 schools, over 430 school leaders and more than 57,000 students. All schools have seen improvements in student outcomes, including behaviour and attendance data; with over 50 percent of schools achieving significant improvements in student academic outcomes. 

Established by the Fogarty Foundation in 2012, in a unique partnership with the Department of Education and Catholic Education WA, the goal of EDvance is simple yet bold – to improve student outcomes and bridge the inequality gap in education.

“We looked around the world for best practise in education and we gathered a diverse group of highly qualified and committed people to discuss how we could improve outcomes in challenging communities,” Ms Fogarty explained.

“We brought together wisdom, ideas and different approaches, and using this knowledge, we created and have continued to refine what is now the Fogarty EDvance program,” she said.

Georgie Wynne, Fogarty EDvance Program Director, explained that the program improves academic outcomes for students in challenging communities by enhancing the leadership skills of principals and their leadership teams.

“The program has a two-track agenda – school improvement and leadership development. It brings together the best tools from education, business and philanthropy, shares these tools and practices with school leaders, and supports them as they translate these practices into their schools and classrooms,” Georgie Wynne said.

“We work within each school’s context, mentoring and supporting schools for the entire three-year program. We focus heavily on the school’s organisational health and use data to inform ongoing strategic planning – with the ultimate objective of improving student outcomes.  Unlike other ‘off the shelf’ development programs, we also hold school leaders accountable for measuring and reporting their progress at the end,” she said.

“One of the main reasons why EDvance has been so successful, is because it has been brought together and supported by an exceptional group of people from within education and across the business and community sectors – all who bring knowledge and expertise from a wide range of sectors. They are involved because they all believe in the importance of quality education for all and the benefits this brings to our whole society,” Ms Fogarty said.

Congratulations Ashah Tanoa and Brett Healey, dual winners of the 2022 WAIER-Fogarty Foundation Postgraduate Student Research Prize.

The Fogarty Foundation partner with the Western Australian Institute for Educational Research (WAIER) to offer a postgraduate student research prize of $5000. The aim of the prize is to support educational researchers studying at an approved higher education institute who are conducting research directly relevant to early childhood, primary, secondary or tertiary education. 

Ashah Tanoa’s project,“Let’s yarn about uni”: Conversations around the Indigenous student university experience, includes two studies on conceptualising and supporting Indigenous student success. In the first study, Ashah will describe an innovative undergraduate enabling unit that offers academic coaching to Indigenous students, where students value relational support and accountability. For the second study, Ashah will present a research proposal on an appreciative inquiry study that will capture lived experiences of Indigenous students who left in their first year of university. The study will collect data through yarning with previously enrolled Indigenous students: those who left within their first year and those who continued studying. 

“We were especially impressed with Ashah’s focus on First Nations students’ experiences in higher education and her focus on using the money to further develop her research and data collection in this important project,” the judges commented. 

Brett Healey is a teacher and researcher specialising in children’s writing. His doctoral research project, A cognitive stylistics approach to grammar for writing in teacher-student writing conferences, aims to develop a set of concepts to help primary school students understand the link between the way they visualise narrative scenes and the grammar that helps them write it. Specifically, the research is focused around dialogue between teacher and student. Dialogue centred on a student’s writing – known as a writing conference – helps teachers enter the world of the student’s narrative, and from here they can teach explicit modes of imagination which translate into grammatical choices.

“Brett’s international teaching experience coupled with his strong focus on teaching narratives indicates yet another much-needed area of research in education. His work signals a return to teacher-as-facilitator and guide in how students develop their work as writers and are supported in making meaning with language,” the judges commented. 

Congratulations Ashah and Brett – we at the Foundation – look forward to seeing the results of your research projects. 

Annie Fogarty was a member of a panel discussion at the recent Science of Learning (SOL) Leadership Accelerator in Melbourne. The SOL Accelerator was organised by Knowledge Society and hosted by the Crowther Centre, Brighton Grammar School. 

One hundred and thirty educators from around Australia attended to discuss and accelerate evidence-based change in effective teaching practice, and how the Science of Learning can be scaled in Australia from niche to mainstream.  

The Science of Learning is the cognitive-science on how students learn and connects learning to practical implications for teaching. It includes how students: 

All educators should be able to connect these principles to their classroom practise. Speakers at the conference included Dr Jenny Donovan CEO of the Australian Education Research Organisation, Pamela Snow Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Ollie Lovell author of Cognitive Load Theory in Action and Tools for Teachers, and Ross Fox Director of Catholic Education (Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn) who is working to ensure their whole system is based on the Science of Learning.  

With Australian students’ academic performance declining and 28% of our Year 7 students not functionally literate enough to be able to access further learning, we need to teach reading with evidence-based practises. This will ensure that at least 95% of our students can read effectively, not just 60 to 70%.  For this to happen, universities will need to base their Initial Teacher Education courses on evidence-based practises and professional learning for teachers will need to focus on developing this mindset and toolkit for present teachers.  

The Fogarty Foundation support the Science of Learning through the Fogarty EDvance School Improvement Program and our Teaching Intensives.  Learn about the Science of Learning here.

On Tuesday evening, Arts Impact WA awarded Reclaim the Void and CinefestOz with the inaugural Arts Impact WA High Impact Grants for 2022. The grants are worth $100,000 each and will support the winners with their regionally based proposals.

CinefestOZ – Broome Festival will be WA’s first Indigenous-focused film festival, co-delivered by WA’s only Indigenous-owned film company, Goolarri Media Enterprises. It will be a flamboyant 4-day celebration of national significance, curated for the unique social landscape of Broome. Film screenings, community events, and school and industry programs will ensure something for everyone.  

During the event, students will be immersed in film through curriculum-linked activities that grow industry-ready talent on both sides of the camera. The event will employ two local Indigenous film officers, engage 12 media professionals and attract 3,000+ attendees. 

Set to launch in November 2022, CinefestOZ Broome will celebrate the importance of on-screen storytelling in connecting communities and fostering reconciliation in the Kimberley and beyond. 

Reclaim the Void is a bold cross-cultural project that will cover a mining pit in northern Goldfields with an enormous textile artwork depicting the story of country. Based on Ngalia elders expressing grief over the ‘gaping mining holes’ on their country, the artwork will be created by stitching together thousands of rag-rugs made from discarded fabric by people from all walks of life.

This project, created by Vivienne Robertson in collaboration with Ngalia Heritage Research Council, is already deeply resonating across Australia and the world, as people, schools and organisations respond to the call for rugs. Forty artists, cultural leaders and an ever-expanding group of collaborators will co-create this shared act of healing and reconciliation. 

In late 2023, the WA Museum will exhibit cultural and artistic outcomes, including stunning aerial images of the installation. 

Four addional finalists including Sensorium Theatre Inc, Annette Carmichael, Verity Leach and Simone Flavelle walked away with $10,000 to kick start their projects.

The Fogarty Foundation is a founding member of Arts Impact WA, supporting excellence in the arts in Western Australia. 

“We can build a more resilient and exciting WA through supporting a wide range of small and emerging arts organisations. Now is the time to be supporting creators of the arts and we look forward to doing so through Arts Impact WA.”

Annie Fogarty AM

Find out more about Arts Impact WA and how they are coming together to ignite the arts here.

Michael Burrows, shortlisted for the Fogarty Literary Award in 2019, is one of this year’s Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists. 

Michael is an author and poet from Perth, Western Australia. In 2017, he completed a Master’s in Creative Writing in London, during which he wrote the first draft of his novel Where the Line Breaks. 

“Getting Where the Line Breaks out into the world has been one of my proudest achievements, especially given the turmoil of the last few years, so this recognition for my hard work and the work of Fremantle Press in publishing the book, is a very welcome feeling.”

Michael Burrows

Where the Line Breaks is both historical fiction and a literary mystery story, originally reviewed in the Sydney Morning Herald as a ‘lively take on the limitations of scholarship and on the unknowable nature of the past’.

Along with Michael, Diana Reid and Ella Baxter have also been recognised for their work. The judges explained that the three novelists stood out for their ‘strong narrative voices, memorable characters and sharp writing – they’ll make you laugh, cry and keep thinking long after you’ve turned the final page.’

The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist awards were established by former Herald literary editor Susan Wyndham to recognise emerging local writing talent. Previous winners of the award include Alice Nelson, Nam Le, Jessie Tu, Alice Bishop, Robbie Arnott, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Hannah Kent, Sonya Hartnett, Malcolm Knox, Elliot Perlman, Luke Davies, Craig Silvey, Christos Tsiolkas and Gillian Mears.

Follow the link below to read the Sydney Morning Herald article, Sex, love and footnotes: Meet the 2022 Best Young Australian Novelists.

Image courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald.

With the Federal Election looming and candidates eager to hear from constituents, the UWA Fogarty Scholars joined Celia Hammond, Member for the seat of Curtin and Liberal candidate for the upcoming federal election, for a conversation about education, leadership, politics, resilience and more. This event follows the successful conversation the Scholars had with Kate Chaney, independent candidate for the seat of Curtin.

Celia opened by explaining her upbringing, education and what led her to the world of politics. Celia studied law at the University of Western Australia (UWA), worked as a lawyer in private practice before moving into a career as a legal academic at UWA and the University of Notre Dame (UNDA). At UNDA she had various roles, including Legal Counsel, Deputy Vice Chancellor and in 2018, Celia was appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame, a position she held until moving into politics. Celia has been the Member for Curtin since 2019. 

Celia shared her areas of focus, talking about her Liberal beliefs and values, including:

The Scholars raised a wide range of topics, spanning climate change and the government’s commitment to Net Zero by 2050, how quickly we can reach Net Zero and how the country will do so, the technological advancements of the future and how they will impact the world, addressing the needs of the Curtin electorate whilst balancing the needs of the country, the government response to the COVID 19 pandemic, the development of resilience, how to combat imposter syndrome and whether or not individuals can have ‘everything’. 

Celia encouraged the Scholars to find their driving force and follow their passions. 

“Don’t be afraid to change paths or take a risk, the worst thing that will happen is that you will fall.” 

Celia Hammond MP

Many thanks to Celia for sharing this conversation with the group, and to the Scholars who joined us for the discussion. Communication is key to understanding and assists in all aspects of life. By assisting in the development of successful and respectful communication skills, we are encouraging our Scholars to take part in discussions that will change the future.